The Brookings Institution– In recent years, online reviews have become more popular than ever, and reviews for physicians and medical providers are no exception.
OPIM
For Some Workers, That Paycheck Could be in Cryptocurrency Sooner Than Later
FAU Study Says Some Nursing Homes Gaming the System to Improve Their Medicare Star Ratings
PR Newswire– For families faced with the difficult decision of placing a loved one in a nursing home, a government rating system is often the only source of information to determine which facilities are the best. However, a new study of nursing homes in California, the nation’s largest system, by faculty at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Connecticut, found that some nursing homes inflate their self-assessment reporting to improve their score in the Five-Star Quality Rating System employed by Medicare to help consumers.
Broadband Companies, Public Officials Set Sights on Super-Fast Internet
Stamford Advocate– The race is on to expand high-speed internet service across the country.
Stamford-based Charter Communications has emerged as a leader in the broadband industry, as it has connected millions of customers across the country in recent months to super-fast “gigabit” service. In Connecticut, public officials are also pushing ahead with a number of rapid-connection initiatives, which they argue are engines of economic growth. But these programs must tackle significant challenges — including recent regulatory changes — to fulfill their potential.
Some California Nursing Homes Inflated Star Ratings
Skilled Nursing News – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made improvements to its Five-Star Quality Rating System after questions about self-inflation, and a new study provides more evidence for why the changes were necessary.
Scholar Develops Software to Search the Dark Web for Hate Group Manifestos
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education – Ugochukwu O. Etudo, a new assistant professor of operations and information management in the School of Business on the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut, has developed software that can be used to search the internet and the so-called “Dark Web” to identify websites that espouse radical views and violent behavior.
Health-Care Industry Increasingly Faces Cybersecurity Breaches
Emergency Management – The scenarios are chilling: A busy hospital suddenly cannot use any of its electronic medical records or other computerized systems. The victim of a ransomware attack, the hospital will not regain access without paying those who locked down the records — if at all.
Want Better Interoperability? Let Vendors and Providers Charge Fees, One Researcher Says
Fierce Healthcare – As the information blocking debate rages on, one researcher is advocating for an unorthodox approach: Allow vendors and providers to charge fees for managing and exchanging health data.
HIPAA, HITECH Still Limiting Health Data Exchange Innovation
EHR Intelligence – The author of a new editorial on the Health Affairs Blog asserted that federal regulations HIPAA and HITECH— not EHR companies — are responsible for limiting interoperability improvements and obstructing health data exchange.
Op-Ed: To Foster Information Exchange, Revise HIPAA And HITECH
Health Affairs Blog – We know that when patients are provided with access to their medical records, they feel more in control of their care, understand their health conditions and their care plans better, prepare for their visits, and adhere more to their medications. Despite patient portals’ usability challenges for certain groups of patients and disadvantaged populations, they not only help patients and their care partners but also are a significant means to reducing overhead costs for providers. When physicians are provided with instant electronic access to their patients’ medical data, both quality and efficiency of care radically improve. Overall, an interoperable system across the United States that provides instant access to medical records is estimated to reduce the costs of health care services by $371 billion per year.